Photo: Robert Graham · CC BY-SA 2.0Morpeth is older than 89% of UK towns: a median age of 50.8
1.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%. Fewer households with dependent children than in 78% of UK towns: 24%. In 2021, the Census found 14,419 residents in Morpeth, living in 6,675 households. For Morpeth, the census puts adults who have never married at 26%.
What the Census says about Morpeth’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Morpeth’s residents are under 50.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 29% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 90% of UK towns: 8.2%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
29% of residents are 65 or over (England’s towns: 18%). As a reference point, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Morpeth, 50.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Full-time students make up 4.5% in Morpeth, less than in 63% of UK towns
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
The share of residents who moved in within the year is 8.2%, against 11% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 87% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Northumberland’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Across England’s towns, 30% of households are one person living alone; in Morpeth, 33%.
More households without a car or van than 69% of UK towns: 19%
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
30% of households live in a detached house (England’s towns: 21%). Morpeth has more households in flats than 62% of UK towns, at 13%. Across the comparison, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 81% of UK towns, at 99%
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
12% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. For comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. In Morpeth, 4.4% of residents were born outside the UK.
Above 85% of UK towns: 56% of residents describe themselves as Christian
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 95% of Morpeth · Northumberland’s towns 96% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%; Morpeth has 38%. To put it in context, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 95% of residents describe themselves as White British.
53% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 82% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Against a figure of 8.7% across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers in Morpeth comes in at 9.9%. Elsewhere, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 355 residents.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 43%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 43% of adults in Morpeth (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 13% (England’s towns: 18%).
From a median age of 36 in Longhorsley, Hepscott & Capheaton to 52 in Morpeth Central & East
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Morpeth Central & East is the oldest area, with 30% aged 65 or over; Longhorsley, Hepscott & Capheaton the youngest (median age 36). Families with children are most common in Longhorsley, Hepscott & Capheaton (38% of households).
Of 360 UK towns its size (10,000 to 19,000 people), the 32nd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Morpeth in age: Poynton (50.7), Wells (50.7), Wetherby (50.8) and Poulton-le-Fylde (50.9).
Around Morpeth, 1 of 7 towns have a higher median age
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morpeth | 14,419 | — | 50.8 | 29% | 24% |
| Pegswood | 3,302 | 2 mi | 46.3 | 21% | 26% |
| Stakeford | 8,197 | 4.1 mi | 48.7 | 25% | 22% |
| Bedlington | 16,186 | 4.6 mi | 45.7 | 22% | 25% |
| Ashington | 28,279 | 5.2 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 26% |
| Widdrington Station | 2,495 | 6 mi | 46.7 | 25% | 22% |
| Ellington | 2,131 | 6.6 mi | 55.2 | 31% | 19% |
| Cramlington | 28,846 | 6.9 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Northumberland’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Northumberland (or England), summed the same way as Morpeth’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Morpeth’s residents
What is the population of Morpeth?
The 2021 Census counted 14,419 people in Morpeth’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Morpeth?
The median age was 50.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 89% of UK towns. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Morpeth?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 96% across Northumberland’s towns. 4.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Morpeth?
38% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 4.4% didn’t answer.
Is Morpeth good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Longhorsley, Hepscott & Capheaton (38% of households). Schools are on Morpeth’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067) · House of Commons Library MSOA names. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.